People talk 5/28/03

High school play takes stab at Ryder's tale

SAN DIEGO -- In the latest example of art imitating life, a group of high school students has created a musical based on Winona Ryder's shoplifting trial.

Point Loma High School's "Sticky Fingers: A Tale of Saks, Lies and Videotape" satirizes the trial last fall in which the Oscar-nominated actress was convicted of taking about $6,000 worth of items from Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills.

The production is the culmination of a year's worth of work by several dozen students and is directed by teacher Larry Zeiger, who plays piano for the show and stars as CNN interviewer Larry King.

The musical follows a missile-factory employee and tango dancer who travels to Rodeo Drive, where she has a fateful meeting with her idol, Ryder, at Saks.

Ryder was invited to see the show, which opens this week, but the school hasn't received a response.

Judge dismisses suit over Spears song

PHILADELPHIA -- A federal judge dismissed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Britney Spears, saying two Philadelphia songwriters failed to prove the pop singer copied the melody of one of their songs.

U.S. District Judge Berle M. Schiller ruled last week that Michael Cottrill and Lawrence Wnukowski couldn't provide enough evidence to prove Spears had access to their song titled, "What You See Is What You Get," when she recorded, "What U See (Is What U Get)."

Cottrill and Wnukowski said they gave one of Spears' representatives a copyrighted version of their tune in late 1999 after being asked to submit songs for consideration for the singer's upcoming album.

But Schiller, citing defense testimony, said the melody of Spears' song was completed by the beginning of November 1999, before Spears and her representatives "would have had access to a copyrighted version of plaintiffs' song."

He also said there weren't enough similarities between the two songs to prove copyright infringement.

Steve-O facing drug charges inSweden

STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- A star of MTV's "Jackass" admitted in a Swedish court that he had drugs in his hotel room, but said he joked about swallowing a condom filled with marijuana and hashish.

The Stockholm district court ordered Stephen Glover -- known as Steve-O on the defunct series -- held in jail until June 6 while a prosecutor prepares possible charges of drug smuggling and drug possession. Sweden has some of Europe's strictest anti-drug laws.

"I had an Ecstasy pill in my bag and I smoked marijuana in the hotel room. I admit to both of those crimes," Glover said during the hearing Saturday. He denied smuggling the drugs into Sweden and said he was only joking when he described the condom stunt to a Swedish newspaper and on his Web site.

Schindler's List reviewed by students, director

LOS ANGELES -- Hundreds of high school students got the chance to talk with Steven Spielberg about his film "Schindler's List" as part of the school district's social studies program.

The 1993 film tells the story of German industrialist Oskar Schindler, who saved more than 1,100 Jews from death during World War II. The film won seven Academy Awards, including best picture and best director.

The Los Angeles students watched the film on the district's educational TV station before meeting with Spielberg at the Hollywood American Legion's auditorium last week.

"I'm known for films that are more entertaining than thought-provoking," Spielberg said during the meeting. The director fielded questions about everything from his favorite scene in the movie, to how many Jews were still alive that Schindler saved.

As it turned out, one was in the audience.

Leon Leyson, who was a child when he and his family were sent to Auschwitz, told the students he remembered the camp and Schindler.

"When I saw the movie, I was startled at how accurate it was," he told the students. "I could see my house, where I used to live."

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PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Oscar-nominated actress Laura Linney received an honorary degree from her alma mater, Brown University, during its commencement ceremony.

Linney graduated in 1986 from the Ivy league university with a degree in theater arts.

The 39-year-old was nominated as best actress for her role in the 2000 film "You Can Count on Me." More recently, she appeared in "The Life of David Gale" with Kevin Spacey.

Also receiving honorary Brown degrees Monday were former Democratic Sen. Sam Nunn of Georgia; Chinese dissident Xu Wenli; Lowery Stokes Sims, director of the Studio Museum in Harlem; genetic researcher Joan Argetsinger Steitz; and former United Nations undersecretary general Brian Urquhart.